VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Allen R. Kuhn photography

Allen Kuhn’s von Neumann Gallery

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John von Neumann is racing his Ferrari 860 Monza at Minter Field, now called Shafter Airport in Bakersfield, CA. on May 20, 1956. He finished second to Pearce Woods and his D-Type Jaguar. Enjoy.

Story and Photos by Allen R. Kuhn

As I pondered who or what might interest the readers of VeloceToday, a name popped into my aging mind. What about one of the pioneers of sports car racing in So Cal, the one and only John von Neumann? My first sighting of him was the third sports car race I attended. He was in his Porsche 550 Spyder at Glendale Airport in 1955; it was used in a previous issue of VT. He sounded like a good subject.

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Allen R. Kuhn: Of Gauld and Ferrari

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Carroll Shelby in John Edgar’s Ferrari 410S leads Dan Gurney in Frank Arciero’s Ferrari 375 Plus at Palm Springs on April 13, 1958. One of the many photos I shared with the Ferrari Archivist.

Story and Photos by Allen R. Kuhn

I would like to start this series of short stories – they are not Galleries as before – by telling a true story about Graham Gauld, and how he saved our skin when we were in Italy/France in 2006 for our seven-week tour of the Continent. The story really began in Maranello, so bear with me…. [Read more…] about Allen R. Kuhn: Of Gauld and Ferrari

Photo Gallery 2: Allen R. Kuhn, 1956-58

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I was really enjoying my Photographer Pass, especially at Paramount Ranch. The elevation changes gave you dramatic angles to catch the cars. Such as this one of Dan Gurney in Frank Arciero’s Ferrari 375 Plus on December 8, 1957. Dan won by 30 seconds over Bob Oker in an Aston Martin.

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

By late 1956 I was really getting into the swing of what and how to shoot, for example Ferrari, particularly the sports racers. But I didn’t know was there would still be a great interest in these cars 40 years later. If I had known that I would have had much different shooting technique. The most important change would have been to use a lot more film. [Read more…] about Photo Gallery 2: Allen R. Kuhn, 1956-58

Photo Gallery: Allen R. Kuhn, 1955-56

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Paramount Ranch, November 18, 1956.

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

The Editor has been so kind as to let me post a few images that are the most memorable, to me, from my early years as a photographer and sports car aficionado. Many have never been published before. We both agreed that the lead photo above exemplified what sports car racing in the 1950s was all about. Front row, is #59 Bob Oker, AC Ace Bristol, #2 Dan Gurney, Porsche 356 Speedster, and #131 Jim Parkinson (# not shown), Austin-Healey 100S. Oker won the race with Parkinson third and Gurney being a DNF with clutch problems.

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A Photographer’s Life: Resurgence

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After a generation had passed, Allen and Carole were suddenly selling the old prints from 1955 to 1965. Photo by Lisa K. Kuhn

Read Part 1 Though my shooting days of sports car racing were over I would keep the negatives; no photographer would ever get rid of his work. I secured an empty Kodak 250 sheet 8×10 Polycontrast III RC F Glossy Paper Box to store the negatives in. I hermetically sealed the box and put it in a secure dry-walled cabinet in my garage for storage. They did not see the glare of an enlarger bulb for the next 35 years.

Story by Allen R. Kuhn

It was on September 20, 1998, that Carole and I went to a vintage sports car race in Tustin, California. This was the first time we had seen sports cars turn their wheels in earnest. I took some 8×10 prints along just in case we saw some of the same cars again. Sure enough, we saw some. I actually (cough, cough) gave a few guys prints. (I always get choked up when I use the “G” word, GAVE). Gave is a NO, NO, Dan Gurney once told me. Carole saw someone who had a booth about a sports car magazine, Vintage Race Car Journal . She wanted me to go and show him my photos. That’s where I met Casey Annis.

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A Photographer’s Life: Cars and Dolls

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Allen Kuhn with his trusty Canon 35 mm with a 135mm telephoto lens. He also used a 2 ¼ Rolleicord that was mostly for Ektachrome color film. “Color film made up just 5 % of my total images (about 300 images). I used it mostly for pit shots. The Canon was the work horse.”

West Coast photographer Allen R. Kuhn spent his youth photographing models, buzzing around Southern California in an Abarth Zagato, became a noted race photographer, found a career at Hughes Aircraft, married the girl of his dreams…and that was just the beginning.

Story and photos by Allen R. Kuhn

Unlike many car enthusiasts, my interest in sports cars was not influenced by my parents. Their style in cars was a 1928 Ford that they drove to Yosemite National Park for their honeymoon. They did, however, support my photo interests by naming me the ‘Official Family Photographer.’ In 1954, when I was 16, I found a copy of Argosy magazine (a men’s magazine of the day) with an article about Sebring. It had a fantastic two-page spread on Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Lancia D24, taken at dusk. It was an extreme pan shot. You could almost feel the sensation of speed with the blurred background and sharp looking car. That’s the style I wanted to achieve. [Read more…] about A Photographer’s Life: Cars and Dolls

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